


Right Here Again, Zillion Hours After

by RhaZha



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-20
Updated: 2015-11-20
Packaged: 2018-05-02 11:52:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5247293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RhaZha/pseuds/RhaZha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After being dismissed from the national team, Hope returns to college to finish her last year.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the introduction so it might be a bit slow chapter.
> 
> I got the draft for others so it shouldn't take long to update.

Chapter 1 

She did not look forward to this.

The noise of all those people chatting and laughing, enjoying their young and free lives...It simply got on her nerves.

She would give everything to go back to the morning workouts with Paul, quiet time with Boxxy and Carli, directing her defenders and simply being a part of the team.

You see, Hope loved soccer. She loved being the youngest and most perspective goalkeeper  
in United States. She loved being an athlete, she loved pushing through the boundaries  
and crashing records...  
She loved it all... Yet she still fucked up her chance.

And what hurts, no, what burns her inside is the guilt! Because the fact is, it's all her fault.

She crushed her own dreams. she was good enough! she IS good enough, but the rising of  
women's soccer depended on more than just great players. They needed fans at the games, media coverage, the sponsors and the whole hype that men had. They needed a marketing campaign where they would present the players and make them idols for all those girls hungry for female role models.

And Hope could have been all of that...yet after Jeremy returned to her life... It was all just one bad decision after another.  
The drunk driving could have been dealt with, after all it was Jeremy who drove. But the pictures... They would be on the internet for anyone to see. 

She was good, she was really good, but the damage she could bring to the team was not something Pia wanted to gamble with.  
And Hope won't ever blame her for cutting her of the team. 

Hope understands there's so much more at stake than just one goalkeeper's carer.  
Even-though, the goalkeeper was magnificent.

Jeremy. stupid Jeremy. how could she let him take the teams van? how could she let him drive while intoxicated? how could she trust him with the photos?

Hope closes her eyes and tries to banish those thoughts.  
What's done is done.  
Getting angry again wont do her any good.

She had 2 years behind her of self-destructing, drinking and wasting her life.  
It's time to get back at her feet.

As a player, she was always determined, and now, her new goal is to finish college.  
she unclenches her fists, takes a deep breath and steps on the campus.

\--------------

As she walks down the hall, it doesn't take long for  
some of her the students to remember her.

_Isn't that Solo?_

_Giggle, yeah, I heard she wasn't good enough for the national team_

_remember when she..._

Hope squeezes her eyes shut to try to get a grip on the rising anger and block those voices when-

"Ouch!"

She feels something slams into her.

She grips the person and barks:  
"Are you an idiot? watch where you're going!" 

"hey, you're the one who walks with closed eyes"  
The girl narrows her eyes at Hope, not backing down and returning the murderous stare.

Hope just opened her mouth to put the girl in her place when someone pulled her away.  
"Hey Ann, let it go, we're gonna be late."

Hope barely registers the intruder with freckles all over her face as she leads  
other girl away.

Crisis averted.

Taking a deep breath, she feels the anger in her subdue.

 

_fucking great start of the year _she thinks to herself.__


	2. Chapter 2

The rumors don't stop.

There are few petty people who knew her before, and Hope is aware that they probably feed on her failure. 

So she keeps her head high, and walks proudly. No one has the right to judge her.  
Even if they do, she doesn't care. She's here to finish college not to make friends.  
Her focus is purely on her studies.

Which leaves her here, in this library, trying to get this stupid project done. 

She chose Communications for her major, and for this stupid class, she is  
supposed to make a website, and she choose to make a presentation of the restaurant  
where she works part time. She wanted to make a presentation of women's soccer, but it  
was still too painful to think about soccer.  
The project wouldn't be so hard if she had just paid attention in the class. But she works on the weekends and the Monday morning is always problematic for her. So she keeps zoning out and now she has to figure this out on her own. 

As Hope kept grumbling and sighing every two minutes, she didn't realize she attracted the attention of a certain freckled someone.

\-----------

Kelley was a freshmen, and she got here on pure academic scholarship.  
She tries to keep her grades high, meaning, she is quite familiar with the library.  
But what breaks routine and her concentration, is the sound of desperation repeated in frequent intervals.  
Being her curious self, she can't help but get up to see what is the person struggling with.

She walks few rows and stops when she recognizes the girl staring narrowly at the screen of her laptop. She sits few rows in front of Kelley, and she's always sporting the 'don't talk to me' face.

Kelley uncertainly shifts from one foot to another, not wanting to be on the receiving end of that glare, but as another sigh escapes the other girl, Kelley decides to offer her help. 

"Soooo, what seams to be the problem?"  
She says as she stands slightly behind.

The person of interest turns around with a look that just might say 'Are you fucking serious?' and through her teeth answers.  
"There's no problem." and she returns to the screen.

Kelley rolls her eyes at herself and decides to offer again.  
"I think we share the same class, Ms. Jackson's, I could hel-"

"I don't need your help." Hope interrupts.  
_Who is this kid?_  
Hope can handle her assignments just fine. She doesn't need some -just out of diapers-  
kid to play smart.

"Look, you don't have to be a bitch about it, you're like, not even half way through. And if you just let me, we could finish this faster, and you could have the rest of the day free."

Well, that changes Hope's point of view. The promise of free time sounds heavenly.  
She still hasn't got used to the juggling between classes and shifts.  
So she looks at the obviously younger girl, searching her face for any trace of malice but all she sees are freckles and honesty.  
_Huh, she looks harmless like a squirrel._

Hope raises her hands from the keyboard and gestures to the girl to get on with it.

Kelley smiles, and sits beside hope.

"Okay, so, basically HTML, uses this tags to manipulate text..."

 

Barely an hour later, phone buzzes and interrupts them.  
"Shit i'm late, um I have to go, I think you can finish the rest easily. Find me in class if you have any questions."

The smaller girl quickly takes her bag, jumps from the char, nearly hits a student on her way out and just before running out the door, she yells:

"I'm Kelley, by the way!"  
and with a smile she takes of.

 _She's a mess_  
Hope thinks. But the website she helped her build is nothing but polished and professional looking. All it needed was some more content. Following the instructions she learned  
from the Kelley girl, Hope manages to get it done in no time.

As she gets home, she makes herself a well deserved cup of coffee and reflects on her day.  
It went better than she hoped due to the unexpected help. 

It doesn't really change much. Hope doesn't feel like they are acquaintances let alone friends now.  
And maybe Hope doesn't care enough to say thank you to her face, or treat her any different from before, but a cup of coffee with Kelley's name that awaits the younger girl  
in the class next day, may or may not have anything to do with Hope.


	3. chapter 3

An uneventful week has passed. Uneventful for Kelley that is. She stormed through her days consisting of soccer practices and classes. She loved soccer. She never complained about early and time consuming practices. She knew soccer was what she wanted to do in her life, but that was never guaranteed. 

And that's why she's still here in library. Math book in front of her, but her thoughts were somewhere else.

Kelley wanted to focus. She really did want to get this assignment done. There was no chatter or annoying students who nervously tap their pen. Yet, the problems on her paper were the furthest thing on her mind.

Because, with the corner of her eye, she could see a person who took a permanent residence in her thoughts. _who is that girl? Why does she always wear a frown instead of a smile?_  
Heh, imagine her smiling...  
_What is it, that makes those blue eyes so compelling?_

Kelly glanced at the watch and sighed. She just wasted 30 minutes thinking about the stranger. Kelley did introduced herself, but she still didn't know the other girls name.  
After couple more minutes of debating whether she should or not, she got up, and approached her.

"Hey." 

"You again."

 _Okaaaay. Little bit unfriendly_ Kelley thinks.

"Sooo what are you working on?"

Hope doesn't even spare her a glance when she answers.  
"Not to be excessively rude, but I would like to keep on working on it."

"Right, and you can't do that with me talking."  
Kelley says while nervously playing with the book in her hand.  
This isn't really going how she hoped it would.

"Right."  
Hope answers.

"So how about we get coffee later and you tell me about it?"

Kelley asks hopefully.

Hope turns around and looks at the girl sharply.  


the audacity!  
  
but she turns back to her books, and with obvious disinterest says.

"Look, I would really like to get back to studying."

"Oh. Well...I won't keep you any longer."  
Kelley feels defeated. She definitely didn't expect that. She was just being nice, she wanted to get to know this girl better but you can't force friendships. It takes two.  
She returns to her books but she knows studying is of the table. 

A run. She should go for a run and get rid of this negative energy that seems to be creeping on her.  
~  
Friday evening finds Kelley in a bar with her friends.  
"Oh cheer up Kell, you know you got this game" her best friend Ann tries to make her smile.

"It's not the game." Kell quietly answers while chasing down the rest of her beer. 

"Game? Oooh are we talking about the soccer game tomorrow?"  
Two girls join their table.  
"Yeah Pinoe, I think Kell is a bit worried, she just doesn't want to admit it."  
"Speaking of soccer, isn't that Solo" Tobin asks pointing to a figure by the bar.  
"Solo?"  
Kell cluesly asks and searches the direction Tobin was looking at.  
"Yeah, Hope Solo. I think she was supposed to play for the national team. My friend knew her."  
Ann snorts. "She's the one who nearly run me to the ground on our first day."

Tobin notices how Kell stares at the girl.

"Do you know her?"  
Ann asks. Uncomfortably wathcing the wheels behind Kelleys eyes turning and the determined look on her face.  
"No. Kevin, no! Don't do it, she'll chew you out!"  
Ann tries to stop her best friend, but it's too late.  
Kelley is already marching towards the ex keeper.

 

"How come you never told me you played soccer?"

Hope sighs. She recognizes the voice. She really wanted to drink her beer in peace. Why is that so fucking impossible these days?

"And why would I tell you? We had like 2 conversations."

"Right. Well, I play too, are you going to join our team? What position do you play?"  
Kell excitedly asks.

But Kelley was unconsciously pressing all the wrong buttons.

"You just don't know how to take a hint do you? No, I'm not going to play soccer ever again! will you _please_ fuck off now and pest someone else?"

Kelley is stunned by the outburst.  
She blinks couple of times. She knows that she can be a little bit too much sometimes. She is well aware that she has too much energy, and sometimes it's hard to contain it. She will never admit it, but she is really insecure how other people will take it. 

She just slowly turns around and walks away.

 _Fuck!_  
Hope didn't want to do that, but the girl kept pushing!

She's not a bad person, she doesn't want to hurt people unnecessarily.  
But she needs her personal space and time. And other people can't just invade like that!

When her anger subdues, tiny bit of guilt sets in. The smaller girl didn't deserve the rough outburst.  
Hope is well aware of that. She doesn't really care to apologize, but maybe she could get another cup of coffee instead of saying 'sorry'.  
Yup. That much, she could do.


End file.
